MCHAP Employee Care Programme

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New Business Journal for Download

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:38:00 +0000

A new Business Journal is now available for download. Under the title Journal of Positive Action in the Workplace, the portfolio includes various client testimonials about MCE and case studies of the Employee Wellbeing Service. There are also further details about the MCE Commitment to care and support staff, employees and employers in the workplace.

Investing in Health and Wellbeing

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:59:00 +0000

According to figures released by the Scottish government, ill-health costs the British economy 100 billion pounds a year in lost productivity, lost tax and increased health and welfare costs.

Allbeit a grand figure, this does at least demonstrate why many companies are investing in health and wellbeing programmes. Post recession Britain certainly challenges businesses and employers to be proactive with health, wellbeing and employee benefits packages.

In order to encourage employers in this direction, the Scottish government has invested £1.5 million into their revised approach to encouraging healthy working lives, Health Works. This is based on evidence that health and wellbeing packages do deliver significant bottom line results, when committed to seriously by employers and business leaders.

CBI Scotland, one of the UK's top business lobby organisations state that "...there is a sound evidence base for workplace policies that support the wellbeing of employees. Most of our [CBI Scotland's] top performing organisations have already embraced this...".

MCHAP

Management and Communication Guide Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:01:00 +0000

The final category type of people we will look at are the types of people who put relationships over results first. These people are almost the polar opposite of the first type of 'responsibles'. They would class a job as successful even if the task wasn't finished as long as people remained friends and relationships were kept intact.

Often these people come across as sociable, understanding, supportive and loving although others can see them as vulnerable, weak, too emotional and not effective. They appear to be tuned in to people's emotions, are sensitive and interested in details.

As with the 'analyticals' from Part 3, the 'emotionalists' prefer to be talked to in a quieter gentle tone of voice, and you should be prepared to go into details. It's important to show an interest in what they have to say if you are looking to engage their attention and you should try to engage and interact with eye contact.

One key trait is that should these type of people feel angry, they will probably express this as an apology. They dislike being shouted or dressed down in public and unlike the 'creatives' from Part 2 they don't like being paraded in public.

In general these type of people do not say what is going for them and don't like not having information as this makes them feel undervalued. Togetherness is important and if you want an 'emotionalist' to co-operate it is probably best to ask for their help and demonstrate how it will help others in the team.

MCHAP

Management and Communication Guide Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:49:00 +0000

Perhaps the polar opposite to the creative and dynamic people are those who love details and analysis. Without these people, the ideas that are thought up just on the spur of the moment would never be realised.

Inevitably there is often a massive clash between those people who just want their ideas to happen, and the people who want to know every detail and inch of a project. These people could be regarded as a nuisance, formal, creating problems that needn't be there or just indecisive. Despite this, the more analytical minds come across as reliable, honest, very capable and precise.

Whereas with more creative people it is best to play into their dynamism, often it is better to address the more analytical of us quietly, gently and with very definite details.

These type of people are also quite closed personalities. Turning up late for a meeting for example may not have an apparent effect, but quite often they will feel stressed inside. Conversations should really be precise and full of background information, but at the same time not too long.

Explaining a mistake can often be a delicate process, however usually it is good practice to explain how the error came about and present one or two solutions to the problem. It is important that this kind of criticism is not done in public.

One of the key problems is getting more creative people from Part 2 to work alongside these more analytical people. The 'creatives' are often driven mad by the apparent slowness of the 'analyticals', especially as when they feel hurt these people tend to quietly refuse to co-operate.

A meticulous and logical approach should where possible be used.

MCHAP

Management and Communication Guide Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:49:00 +0000

In Part 1 of this short Management and Communication guide we looked at the type of people who prefer to lead and take on responsibility. The next obvious category of people is the creatives of this world. These are the people who come up with the ideas and are often seen as being more imaginative.

Of course there are cross overs between each of these categories of people we are describing, however most people will fall into no more than two of these brackets predominantly.

Creative people can be seen to have more fun in life than their more responsible counterparts. Often seen as being able to have a joke and reacting more to pictures, metaphors and examples. On the downside, these type of people can be seen as exhibitionists, unreliable while in a more positive light they seem friendly and dynamic.

Key to these people is their ability often to adapt to situations. They may turn up late, but ultimately it doesn't matter as they can learn to fit in with the situation.

Often you won't be able to change the way these people think and nothing you do will persaude them, but on the other hand if they come to the conclusion that they themselves had the idea to change then so much the better. Best is to inspire them and tap into their creativity by using their talents. Give them space to operate in and try not to confine or limit their ideas.

Worst is when these type of people hear authority and are given strict rules. Lots of details, reports and analytics also frustrate them. However they do need to be needed and ultimately the best to way to keep them on board is to ask for help.

MCHAP

Management and Communication Guide Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:33:00 +0000

Communication between employers and employees has been an issue raised by HR publications. However it would also be fair to say that communication between management staff on an equal payroll, or even CEO's of companies working together, plays a huge role in business.

Most communicators in business come to realise that certain people respond better to certain approaches than others. For example, some people like to know exactly every detail of a process whereas others will just want to know the overall goal of a project. Other people put relationships above results and vice versa.

It would be true to say that some people prefer to be in charge than others. This can mean that these people appear as arrogant, forceful, pushy and even aggressive. However it can also mean that these people come across as direct, efficient, reliable and just a genuine high performer.

Some of the tendencies of leaders can be that they will only be convinced of an alternative way of doing things if that way is proven a success. As a result, approaching such a person would involve being able to prove that your idea is better, rather than just coming up with the idea in the first place. This can of course mean a lot more 'homework' before presenting an off the cuff idea.

Discussing emotions would usually be out of the question with this kind of person and presenting an idea would mean concise, to the point conversation. Bullet points might even be a sensible suggestion.

Above all, possibly the best way to get such a person to co-operate would be by showing a process, and a journey through to a tangible result. Flow charts with clear goals that can be accounted for are often best in this situation. Competence and proving that you are competent yourself play a very important role with working with these type of people.

MCHAP

St Peter's Church, Parkstone welcomes Jonathan Martin

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:20:00 +0000

Marketplace Chaplains Europe CEO Jonathan Martin preached yesterday evening at St Peter's Church, Parkstone in Poole.

During the traditional choral evensong service, the Reverend Canon asked the question whether or not we treasure Christ's love for us enough? He warned of the danger of becoming complacent in our church buildings and spoke of an example of a Romanian priest who worried about his congregations becoming too comfortable.

One particularly poignant moment came at the beginning of the sermon, when Jonathan Martin asked one of the youngest members of the church choir directly to let him know if, in a hundred and forty years from now, the building in which he sung would still be standing.

Often it would seem that we only react when it is too late.

MCHAP

Church Worship In The Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:12:00 +0000

Over Christmas, Radio 2 broadcast a Christmas message from one of their chaplains. During the course of the broadcast, the chaplain quoted he would like to see people "being church Monday to Saturday and taking Sunday off" rather than as many people do living the other way round.

Although it was made clear that the chaplain wasn't advocating the idea of taking a day 'off' from God, that message does capture a feeling within both Christians and non-Christians in the UK that togetherness, community and searching for a greater meaning is not limited to the weekends.

Especially in the last couple of years, churches across Britain are starting to realise that it is not possible to continue simply waiting for people to come to them, but instead that churches will have to go and meet people where they are. In a post-modern society this is often not on a Sunday morning.

As a result new ideas have sprung up, for example the concept of 'Messy Church' where families worship on a weekday through creating art together. There are alternatives such as forming church groups in the workplace not just as support groups, but so that working in an office or on the shopfloor can also become worship and therefore church.

The realisation is that church is no longer just about where we can go, but where we are at.

MCHAP Launch Brand New Newsletter!

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:43:00 +0000

The new Marketplace Chaplains Europe Newsletter is now ready! You can read it online at http://www.mchap.co.uk/newsletter/jan10 and our team will be emailing out copies before the end of the month.

The newsletter will include stories and updates from the past month as the chaplains continue to serve clients across the UK as well as personal messages from Marketplace Chaplains Europe CEO Jonathan Martin. There will also be a featured client section.

If you'd like to sign up for the monthly Marketplace Chaplains Europe newsletter, simply enter your email into the box at the bottom of our homepage http://www.mchap.co.uk.

MCHAP

The Best and Worst Events of 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Looking forward to a new year, we've compiled the three best and the three worst events of 2009.

The best...

1) Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th, and first African American, President of the United States.

2) Usain Bolt becomes world's fastest man running 100m in 9.58 seconds.

3) Andrew Lloyd Webber beats the 'nil points' of Eurovision, gaining us 173 points.

And the worst ...

1) Michael Jackson, American performer and recording artist (born 1958) dies after suffering a cardiac arrest.

2) Lethal H1N1 flu virus identified in Mexico, the epicentre of the ensuing global swine flu epidemic; Mexico closes all schools, cancels church services, shuts down restaurants.

3) Air France Flight 447, en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 on board.

MCHAP

Keep Warm during the Winter Freeze

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:30:00 +0000

As the wintery snow seems to have hit even Poole in the south of the UK, we've compiled some of the best tips for keeping warm during the winter...

1) Stick aluminium foil down the back of a radiator close to the wall increases the radiator's efficiency, reflecting the heat back into the room.

2) Set your radiator to warm your bedroom half an hour before going to bed. You can then turn it down once you are under the covers.

3) The letterbox can let in lots of cold air, especially when newspapers are left in them. Banish the breeze with a brush-type cover for the letterbox.

4) Open keyholes also let in cold air. Room temperature can drop ten degrees in one hour. Buy a little round metal flap to cover the hole.

5) Close your curtains at night to keep the heat in.

6) Wear a hat. Most of your body heat escapes through your head so keeping this warm will help keep the rest of you warm.

7) Wear several light layers of warm clothes (rather than one chunky layer).

8) Don't wear cotton next to your skin. Moisture absorbed by cotton will stay next to your skin meaning that when you move, air movement will draw heat away from your body.

MCHAP

Memories of 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:09:00 +0000

On 29th December for the third year running, people in New York gathered in Time Square to shred mementos of bad experiences from 2009. The BBC reported that for items that could not be shredded the organisers, the Times Square Alliance, provided a sledgehammer and a large waste-container.

For many people 2009 will be a year that they will want to forget. Poor economy, large numbers of redundancies, uncertainties over financial futures all summed up by the fact that Rage Against The Machine were this year's Christmas Number 1.

Perhaps if there is one thing to take from 2009, it's that the crossover to 2010 can be a symbolic new beginning. 2009 was in many ways a wake up call and the first January of the new decade is providing the opportunity to set things straight that went awry last year.

The recession is now no longer a surprise and certainly the new year provides the chance to focus and to live with poorer economic times. A resurgence may come into our economy this year, but it may also not. However that does not stop people from getting on and moving onwards.

MCHAP

Post Christmas Slowdown

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Earlier last month Marketplace Chaplains Europe advised starting a savings budget for next Christmas 2010. Certainly given the current economic climate for many people next year will be a year of uncertainty.

One member of the MCHAP team spoke with a florist earlier this week who was delivering right up until 8pm on Christmas Eve simply because she could not afford to turn any business down whatsoever.

The shops are heaving at this time of year, but it will be interesting to see exactly how much people have been spending when the shops announce their profit margins in the new year. In the slowdown after Christmas, the advice is always to save and plan ahead with your finances.

It is the same for businesses as January is often a time when new initiatives are started and plans put into operation. If you would like to speak to a chaplain with regards to your budget planning, have someone pray for you & your company for the New Year or simply need an ear to listen give Marketplace Chaplains Europe a call.

Call now on 0845 458 1600

Wishing you a Happy New Year,
MCHAP

Merry Christmas from Marketplace Chaplains Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Marketplace Chaplains Europe would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas this year! Thanks to everyone who has been involved with the company, to all those people who have met the chaplains and for the countless discussions that have taken place over 2009.

We look forward very much to seeing what 2010 will bring!

God bless,
All of the MCHAP Team.

How does a Workplace Chaplaincy operate in practice?

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:54:00 +0000

One of the fundamental ways in which workplace chaplains operate is by going in and regurlarly visiting the workplace. "It is important for the workers to know that for example, every Friday I will be in the building for an hour at a certain time. Everyone gets into the routine of seeing me around and that means they know when and how they can come and talk to me" Marketplace Chaplain Pat Clark explains.

Although the chaplains dress according to their assigned workplace, dog collars are not worn. They do however have official name badges to alert people to their status as a chaplain.

Marketplace Chaplains Europe also offer a 24 hour 7 day per week callout service. Elaine Emmons, business manager for Orchid Cusine tells the story of the time when she was able to call a chaplain to her business because she had felt vulnerable with a potentially difficult customer in the restaurant. The chaplain was able to be on hand within 10 minutes despite the time being past 11pm and even helped in communications with the police while the situation was resolved.

Chaplains also provide marriage guidance and have often been asked to perform wedding ceremonies for employees, as well as funerals and bereavement support. One key feature is that the chaplains provide not only support directly to employees, but also to their families if requested as well. In times of bereavement, after marriage or even after redundancy, the chaplains will always provide continuous support to the family which can include home visits as well.

All of the conversations held between employees and chaplains are confidential, even confidential from employers and management which means that workers talking to the workplace chaplains can have utter confidence that they have an independent third party working alongside them who can provide support and care while they work.

MCHAP

What is Workplace Chaplaincy?

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:49:00 +0000

It is common to find workplace chaplains employed in hospitals around the UK. Hospital chaplains provide a fundamental role in not only providing support, but also in taking funerals, services, counselling and comforting the bereaved. Chaplains in these circumstances are not seen as a religious 'threat' to non-Christian patients, but rather they are there to fulfil a role that hospital staff cannot provide.

The same is true of workplace chaplains. Employers do not contract with Marketplace Chaplains Europe on the basis of evangelising or promoting Christianity. Instead the aim of the chaplains is to provide a service to the client - helping promote employee retention, boost morale and performing functions that HR Management usually cannot provide.

While filming for the forthcoming Marketplace Chaplains Europe DVD, HR Manager Suzanne Stevenson explained that she had previously had an employee come to her following a bereavement. It was workplace chaplain employed who had been able to step in and provide some counselling for this employee. There was a common consensus throughout the whole organisation that the chaplains were providing an additional and nessecary service that worked in tandem with the HR department.

While often workplace chaplaincy comes up when talking about Human Resources, a chaplaincy service certainly does not fulfil the role assigned to HR and neither does it encroach onto the work done by a Human Resources department.

Instead rather, the role of the workplace chaplain is a relatively simple one. It is to ensure that employees feel at ease in the workplace and are confident their needs are being taken care of, so that as a business the employer can concentrate on vision, strategy and the overall running of the company.

MCHAP

Workplace Chaplains Promotional DVD Commissioned

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:28:00 +0000

Marketplace Chaplains Europe are currently in the process of producing a short workplace promotional film. The film is aimed at demonstrating the wide variety and scope of a Marketplace Chaplain's work as well as giving testimonies from business leaders currently employing Marketplace Chaplains Europe.

Scenes & interviews have been shot on location at various Marketplace Chaplains Europe businesses with a huge amount of footage being taken of chaplains at work in the workplace.

The short film will be available on the website, as well as in DVD format towards the early part of next month.

MCHAP

Debts at Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:34:00 +0000

It is the time of year when many people get into serious debt problems in the weeks before Christmas. Peer pressure at schools often leads to children asking for expensive presents to be like others in their class. This can lead to disappointment on Christmas Day if they do not receive the items and regrettablty, more often financial problems if they do.

With the current economic climate, it is really important for a good festive budget to be prepared, not just something hastily done on the back of an envelope. It is recommended you create a note of all your seasonal expenditure, including the usual
household bills such as heating and lighting and also an increased food budget. Be realistic as to what you can afford to spend and really keep to it. Spending now on plastic is only sensible if you know you have the means to settle this when the bill
arrives in January. Why not be different and only use cash to buy. That way you can't overspend.

If it is too late this year, it is suggested that creating a regular savings pot from the start of the New Year will greatly assist for Christmas 2010.

Industrial Strife & Chaplain Prominence

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:24:00 +0000

It is common to see chaplains during times of industrial strife - Rover chaplains saw their workload quadruple when the car maker was sold off - and even more so after serious accidents. One of the enduring images of the Sago mining disaster last year, when 13 miners in West Virginia were trapped for two days, was of the chaplain holding vigils by candlelight with the missing miners' families.

Typically, chaplains visit the workplace once or twice a week and are generally on call around the clock for emergencies. They may wear a formal suit or a casual outfit, depending on the workplace, but always leave their religious garb at home. Chaplains can make hospital visits, offer marital advice or officiate at weddings or funerals. While they keep track of the number of people they see for their corporate clients, they are never asked to disclose the content of the consultations.

'We come into a business at the invitation of the employer,' says Stricklin. 'In a way we are just like any other employee benefit, such as health insurance. We come in around once a week and just basically check on the employees. They don't have to talk to us if they don't want to. It's completely voluntary and confidential, but they can chat to us about anything they want.

'The first time our chaplains come in, employees might just want to talk about fishing, or whether they saw David Beckham playing the night before. But maybe one of their family has died, or their son just got arrested for marijuana possession. They may remember the guy they were talking to about fishing and think, Oh yes, I could talk to him about this.'

Quoted from CorpComms

Chaplain Care In The Community

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:09:00 +0000

In the US, where about 98 percent of people claim to have some kind of religious faith, chaplains might be expected, but the UK has also seen an explosion in this area. Reverend Andrew Jolly is the chaplain for the UK oil and gas industry. The post was created in the aftermath of the Chinook helicopter tragedy in Shetland, when 45 men, mainly oil workers, were killed. Jolly has an annual programme of visits to offshore oil rigs in the waters around the UK, each lasting between 24 and 48 hours, and also visits onshore workers.

'I basically care for those who work in the industry, conducting funerals and memorial services,' explains Jolly. 'Working on a rig is a difficult lifestyle that these people lead away from their families. Although modern technology means they can communicate by email or telephone, they are separated by distance. When you stand out on those rigs and you can see nothing for miles, it makes you think about your own mortality.'

Like his American colleagues, Jolly believes the need for corporate chaplains has risen as increased mobility among the workforce means fewer people are anchored in one community. 'People don't have the same connection to their church they used to have 20 or 30 years ago when they knew their priest,' he says. 'Surveys suggest that even though many people don't go to church any more, the majority - some 70 percent - still claim to have some belief in a god or a higher power. So we try to offer the kind of community the church would once have offered.

'I see my role as evangelical, though I don't go out with a bible ready to smack people over the head with it. That's not my aim, but I hope my presence will maybe sow some seeds that will come to fruit a few years down the line.'

Insurance giant Aviva and confectionery group Nestlé are among the firms that sponsor the York Workplace Chaplaincy, a group of chaplains covering various workforces in the Diocese of York. For Aviva, whose Norwich Union business is based in York, the benefits lie in boosting employee morale - which in turn improves health and productivity - and in helping staff deal with their problems in the workplace without having to take time off.

Quoted from CorpComms

Winter Anxiety in the Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:52:00 +0000

Winter is a time of year when levels of anxiety in the workplace can rise for various reasons. With mornings getting colder and the heating being turned up at work, many people will notice the beginnings of coughs and colds. Some work places will publish information about how to avoid sickness at this time, such as: eating healthily, exercising, and getting regular check-ups from the Doctor. Many people will think about taking vitamin tablets or going for a flu jab. All around people will strive to keep their bodies healthy and in good working order… but what about their minds?

Along with the cold weather there is sometimes an increase in the difficulties faced in daily life; ice on the car making someone late for work, the need for warmer clothing, darker evenings that may shorten working hours or even impact on a social life. Many people run around trying to get everything done and often to shorter deadlines due to the approach of important holidays. Another common worry is the need to fund those Christmas plans and have time for all the preparation.

In the Bible Jesus teaches about not having an anxious mind and encourages Christians to seek God for the answers (Luke 12 v 29). For many people this is not an easy thing to do during a busy workday in a company where results are important. It is easy to forget that minds also need to be kept healthy and are in need of a regular check-up or rest. Whether this is in the form of an evening of downtime with a good book, or a chat with the company Chaplain about how things are going. Sometimes this can help to just create that clearer picture about how to prioritise all those jobs and continue to work successfully and healthily.

Ryanair Highlights Importance of HR

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Yesterday evening BBC's Panorama broadcast a documentary on Ryanair centering on the company's 'low cost at all cost' attitude. This showed the relationship between hardline business practicalities and perceptions directly affecting how staff thought of the airline they worked for.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary is well known for ruthless cost cutting business practices as Panorama highlighted in his dealings with Airbus and Boeing. However, he is also known for bringing massive profits of over £154 million each year. So focused is his company on cutting costs that Ryanair have even banned staff from charging mobile phones (estimated to save the company an average of 1.4p per charge).

Panorama interviewed one pilot who certainly had a deep level of dissatisfaction with the company claiming that Ryanair expected him to do flight reports out of work hours and that staff no longer got inflight water.

Normal business practice, and certainly Christian business practice is to balance the profit making with staff welfare. This is something Marketplace Chaplains are certainly well trained to do and help implement, even within strict cost cutting measures. One question not raised in Panorama's programme was whether time would be given off to pilots suffering a bereavement.

However it is not Marketplace Chaplains Europe's position to criticise business practices but rather to work with existing systems and helping the real people involved. The vision of Ryanair is to bring air travel to the masses, the mission of Marketplace Chaplaincy to serve those people who work to acheive their company's vision.

Christian Management in Business. Success, Completion and the Results Game

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:14:00 +0000

In business and management there is a fine line between success and failure. One moment it can seem that the project is all up in the air, with deadlines impossible to meet and budgets off the scale. The next moment doors open up, a competitor drops out, the budget gets met and everyone is happy because the project is completed on time (albeit the team had to stay up all night to make it happen).

There is a truth in the fact that completion makes something much more satisfactory. In a recent Worktalk article it was quoted that Jesus talks about the importance of finishing. Nutritious work contains the element of completion.

In a world where generally it is only the result that matters, completion is seen by most employers as the reason for employing someone. If the task isn't completed, then questions will be raised and ultimately the manager's role will be called into account.

However, it is also true that the best and most fruitful projects are not simply the ones that bear the results, but also had a journey that was equally fruitful. This is the same within business tasks as well as it is within our christian lives. The role of the chaplain is to support and guide a person along their journey concentrating on the now, although bearing the end in mind.

For HR and managers alike this is the real conundrum as often it is not how to use people that is the problem, but rather the way in which people are handled. This problem is enhanced when running a Christian business as it is often hard for Christian managers to know where to draw the line.

How do you balance working when on the one hand you want to act Christianly towards your employees, and on the other hand you want to get results from them in the most efficient way? Especially when your boss will accept nothing but total completion by the weekend...

Business Growth through Talent Management in the Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (Marketplace Chaplains Europe) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:56:00 +0000

According to a source quoted in last month’s Daily Telegraph, in today’s climate many businesses are finding it beneficial to know where the top percentage of their workforce is, enabling them to assess where internal training and development would be more cost and time effective.

Quite often a company will recruit based on a specific need. For example a school may employ a network support technician or an advertising company may employ a sales assistant. This can ensure the daily running of the company but doesn’t necessarily look at development or growth.

However Andrew Baillie, head of talent management within Kenexa believes “…it really pays to know what’s within your own organisation. A great example is the oil industry… They’re facing what’s called ‘the big crew change’ where basically they’ve got people coming to retirement with fewer people coming in behind them with the specialised knowledge required for oil exploration. So, we make sure they’ve got great visibility within their own organisations so they can make the most of the talent they have got and offer people movement within the company.”

Continued staff training and development could enhance this style of management. It encourages continued employee loyalty and can be more cost effective than recruiting new staff. By developing within the company you are cutting the cost of the recruitment process. Current employees will also be more familiar with the company infrastructure and future aims.

One way in which a marketplace chaplain could help make this system more successful a chaplain would be to look for opportunities for development in individuals. For example, a quiet employee who fills their role without drawing any attention may be the "go to" person for the entire department in one specific area. This employee would be able to tell the chaplain about their skill and any thoughts about possible development. The chaplain would then be able to draw this to the attention of a line manager who could then begin the training process.